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TEST REPORT Satellite Meter LEXIUM Handheld Powerhouse LEXIUM is quickly becom- heard about this new meter, ing a recognized name when we wanted to find out more it comes to satellite receivers about it. If it’s anything like and test equipment. WS In- the 7100Pro, then this new ternational, a global distribu- meter should be just as excit- tor of the most up to date & ing, even more so. Once again current DTH (Direct to home) our friends at WS Internation- satellite equipment includ- al provided us with a sample ing MPEG2 & MPEG4, DVB- of the FastAlign 5110Pro so S & DVB-S2 equipment has that we could have a little fun distribution branches based with it and see what all the out of Atlanta, Georgia, Los fuss is about. Angeles, California and with The 5110Pro signal meter sales & development offices comes packaged in a nice, in Zhuhai and Guangzhou small box along with all of its China markets the LEXIUM accessories including two bat- brand name world-wide. Just tery chargers – one for a wall a few months ago, in fact, it outlet and another one for the was in the 12-01/2012 issue car, two female-to-female “F” of this magazine, TELE-sat- type adapters, a USB cable ellite introduced the LEXIUM and a handy carrying strap. FastAlign 7100Pro satellite There’s also a 24-page Eng- signal analyzer. The 7100Pro lish-language user manual. boasted the unique capability So, let’s look at the me- of identifying the name of a ter itself. The 5110Pro is a satellite as soon as the meter handheld digital signal ana- showed a lock. The LEXIUM lyzer that is small enough to line of digital satellite sig- fit in one hand. The internal nal meters, up until recently, electronics are enclosed in a also included the FastAlign sturdy black plastic case that 5100Pro. With all this going is 142 x 82 x 35mm in size. for them, did they feel the The case itself is encased in need to sit back and relax af- a bright yellow rubberized ter these success stories? Did cover that acts as a shock ab- they feel that their job was sorber; it will help protect the done? No, not at all. Instead, analyzer if it should ever fall the engineers went straight to the ground. The rubberized back to work. cover can easily be removed The result of their efforts if you ever need to access is the LEXIUM FastAlign the battery compartment. 5110Pro. The 5110Pro is actu- At just a hair over 1.0 pound ally a direct replacement for in weight, the meter is very their very popular 5100Pro easy to carry around with you model. Of course, when we wherever you have to go. So, it’s no trouble to climb that ladder to the top of that roof with the 5110Pro hanging on your shoulder; you won’t even 09-10/2012 know it’s there. The meter sports a pair of■ TELE-satellite Test Editor Ron Roessel aligning a 76cm LEXIUM FastAlign 5110Pro Digital Satellite Meterdish using the new LEXIUM FastAlign 5110Pro Professional Helps enormously to install male “F” type connectors onSatellite Meter. "It so easy to point the dish with this meter," any satellite dish the top side of the unit. Thesays Ron Roessel, "and it even makes fun!" www.TELE-satellite.com/12/09/LEXIUM connector on the right side is76 TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine — 09-10/2012 — www.TELE-satellite.com www.TELE-satellite.com — 09-10/2012 — TELE-satellite International — 全球发行量最大的数字电视杂志 77

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LEXIUMused to connect to the LNB and this should be more than where the second “F” connec- for just by looking at the typeon the satellite dish. Power enough time for a typical in- tor on the left side comes in. of connector that was beingto the LNB is supplied by the stallation. However, if you find Ordinarily, the left connec- used.5110Pro itself. The manu- that a little more time is need- tor isn’t needed unless sup- On the bottom of the ana-facturer specifies that the ed at the installation site, the plemental power is needed. lyzer you’ll find the chargingmeter should last for about meter can also be powered by The two female-to-female “F” port for the two power adapt-four hours on a single charge the satellite receiver. That’s type adapters supplied in the ers (home and car), a USB package are used to connect port to link the meter with a the meter to any existing coax PC and a number of slats be- cables. hind which is located the me- Oddly enough, though, the ter’s speaker. The front panel two male “F” connectors on of the meter consists of an the meter are not marked in LCD display and a keyboard. any way on the casing; we The display is 6.2 x 4.6mm in had to refer to the user manu- size and is divided into five al in order to figure out which different sections. We’ll get connector did what. There are more into this a little later. also no markings for the ports The keyboard is located under on the bottom of the 5110Pro the display and is made up of but in this case it was easy a numerical keypad as well as to figure out what they were a number of additional color- ed function buttons. According to the manufac- turer, the meter should be fully charged before it’s used for the first time. The charg- ing process should take about four hours but no more than six hours to complete. An LED on the front panel of the analyzer lights up red indi- cating that the meter is be- ing charged by the external power supply. This LED turns green when the meter is turned on and the power cord is removed. To turn on the 5110Pro, mo- mentarily push the red POW- ER button on the front panel. If the meter has never been used before, the display will not show any data except for78 TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine — 09-10/2012 — www.TELE-satellite.com

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LEXIUM1 2 3 4 5 6 7zeroes. As mentioned before, selected channel number ei- Only whole numbers can be 1. As the antenna was rotated, the signal quality (Q) bar graphthe display is divided into five ther from the “local channel entered; a more precise loca- clearly shows that we weresections: Positioning, Satellite list” or from the “user defined tion for us would have been closing in on GALAXY 19Selection, Channel Number, channel list”. The Latitude 40.7°N 73.3°W but for the 2. Turning the antenna a little more and “Locked” lit up tellingLatitude and Longitude and and Longitude section high- purposes of entering in our us that we had a signal lock onMeasurement. The Position- lights the location where the location in this meter, we had GALAXY 19ing section runs across the meter will be used in degrees to round to the nearest whole 3. Adjusting the dish a little further increased the S/N leveltop of the display from one latitude and longitude. Also number. Fortunately, this mi- until we reached a peak S/Nside to the other and shows found here are a number of nor limitation should not ham- level of 10.1 dB. The dish was now perfectly aligned withthe required azimuth, eleva- additional function indicators per us in any way when trying GALAXY 19.tion and polarization angle such as battery level, PC link, to find a specific satellite. 4. Next we tried for the HISPASAT satellite at 30°Wsettings for the target satel- speaker mute and channel Now that our location has using the same antenna. Aslite. This section will only dis- list. The Measurement section been set up, it’s time to see the dish came within range of the target satellite, the 5110Proplay data if you already have displays the signal strength what this meter can do. The showed that we were gettingentered in your local position (S) and quality (Q) levels in 5110Pro comes with a pre- close; the signal quality bar graph (Q) began to reactand selected the satellite you bar graph form. Additionally, programmed “local channel 5. And then moving the antennawant to find. The Satellite the signal strength (S) is also list” that includes nearly eve- just a little bit more…LOCKED!Selection section on the left shown in numerical form as is ry satellite from around the 6. Fine tuning the antenna…side displays information on the signal-to-noise level (S/N) world. The LEXIUM 5110Pro 7. …until a maximum S/N levelthe currently selected chan- and the bit error rate (B). automatically filters out the was achieved. The antenna was now peaked on HISPASAT.nel (satellite position (L), In order to get the most out satellites that are below thetransponder frequency (F), of this meter it’s clear that horizon and thus not visible 139.0°W to 4.8°E for a total ofsymbolrate (SR), LNB local the very first step would be to from your location based on 111 channels to choose from.oscillator (LO), polarization enter in the local latitude and the local coordinates that If you change the location co-(LNB) and 22 kHz). The Chan- longitude position where the were entered earlier. For ordinates in the meter, the listnel Number section in the meter will be used. For our our test location the visible of visible satellites changeslower left hand corner of the location here in Long Island, satellites (above the hori- along with it to adapt to thedisplay shows the currently New York, it is 41°N 073°W. zon) included all those from new location. To give you an80 TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine — 09-10/2012 — www.TELE-satellite.com

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LEXIUMidea of how this changes, and polarization angle) in- we had to do is start moving the antenna much faster thanwe changed the local coordi- stantly appears at the top of the antenna into roughly the you might otherwise be ablenates in the analyzer to 37°N the display. This data tells you correct position. According to if you were using a differ-122°W to simulate the use of exactly where to point the an- to the 5110Pro, the antenna ent meter. It’s a time savingthe 5110Pro in San Francisco, tenna to receive that satellite. alignment settings yield an feature that helps to speed upCalifornia. The list of visible So, with the meter in hand, azimuth (A) of 214°, an eleva- the alignment process.satellites for this west coast we went outside to align the tion (E) of 36° and a polariza- So, with the meter con-location included everything dish. Since Galaxy 19 was just tion angle (P) of -25°. nected to our 76cm dishfrom 160°E to 43°W. As you entered into the “user defined With the help of our com- and turned on, we rotatedcan see, the meter automati- channel list”, it makes sense to pass, we turned the antenna the antenna towards 214°cally adjusts the local channel begin by aligning our antenna in the general direction of while keeping an eye on thelist based on its operational to this very popular satellite. 214° and elevated it roughly 5110Pro. The analyzer alsolocation. One thing to keep in Keep in mind that you can use 36° above the horizon. Since has an audible tone thatmind though: this visible list either the “user defined chan- our 76cm dish was not on changes pitch with the signalof satellites represents those nel list” or the “local channel a horizon-to-horizon (H-H) level. This lets you take yoursatellites that can be “seen” list” to start with since Galaxy mount, the LNBF had to be eyes off the meter and listenfrom your location and does 19 also appears in the pre- rotated inside its holder so to changes in signal level if fornot necessarily represent programmed list. You’ll also that its horizontal and vertical any reason the display is outa list of those satellites that need a short piece of coax polarization levels matched of your view.can actually be received. Only cable to connect the meter to the position of the GALAXY 19 As soon as we approachedthose satellites that have a the antenna’s LNB. And don’t satellite. We adjusted the po- the 214° position as dictatedbeam pointing in your direc- forget the compass so that sition of the LNBF in its mount by the 5110Pro, the signaltion can be received. you know which way to turn to reflect the -25° offset sug- quality bar graph on the dis- In addition to the “local the antenna! As it turns out, gested by the meter. play (Q) began to instantlychannel list” there’s also a the 5110Pro is not compatible Thanks to the 5110Pro’s react. We had found GALAXY“user defined channel list”. with any of the DiSEqC proto- built-in QuickSweep technol- 19 on the very first pass! AsThis list is customizable by cols so the analyzer needs to ogy you don’t have to worry we continued to move the an-the user so that more popu- be connected directly to the about missing the target sat- tenna the signal quality (Q)lar satellites can be accessed LNB; there cannot be any DiS- ellite if you turn the antenna bar graph continued to in-more quickly. The 5110Pro EqC switches in between the too quickly. There is no delay crease and the “Locked” indi-comes shipped from the fac- meter and the LNB. from the time the signal is re- cator on the display illuminat-tory without any data in this As luck would have it, we ceived to when it is displayed ed. We continued to move thelist. When setting up the “user had a spare 76cm offset dish on the meter; it reacts almost antenna until we reached adefined channel list”, the first lying around so we decided instantly. This lets you move maximum point. We then fineopen channel is selected so to use this antenna to alignthat a satellite can be set up. to GALAXY 19. We installed aSo, let’s say, for example, we standard Ku-band LNBF (LOFwanted to add Galaxy 19 at = 10.750 GHz) on the dish and97°W into the user defined connected it to the LEXIUMlist. The meter has to first be 5110Pro meter using a shortplaced into the “user defined 10-foot piece of coax cable.channel list” mode by press- The meter was turned on anding and holding down the Op- we decided to use the chan-tion/Local button for about nel data that was just enteredthree seconds. into the “user-defined channel Once the meter is in the list”. We could have also usedcorrect mode, you can then the preprogrammed data inenter in all the relevant data the “local channel list” (chan-for Galaxy 19 (orbital position nel 38) that was associated(L), transponder frequency with the Ku-band side of GAL-(F), symbolrate (SR), local AXY 19 at 97°W. This channeloscillator frequency (LO), po- was set for 11.789 GHz, 28125larization (LNB) and 22 kHz SR, LOF 10.750 GHz and LNBon/off). For this purpose we 13 (vertical polarization). Ei-chose the 12.177V GHz tran- ther transponder would havesponder with a symbolrate worked for this test.of 23000. As soon as the en- At this point pressing anytered data is saved into the one of the number buttons (0 LEXIUMmeter’s memory, the correct to 9) activates the measure-alignment information for the ment section of the meter.antenna (azimuth, elevation The 5110Pro was set to go; all82 TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine — 09-10/2012 — www.TELE-satellite.com

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LEXIUM LEXIUMtuned the elevation (E) un- frequency is not an active fre- rect transponder frequency SAT and once again we found that’s not all that much fun obtained free of charge by go-til a maximum S/N level was quency for North America. using the numerical keypad to perform. But thanks to the ing to www.LEXIUM-dvb.com. TECHNICAL the target satellite on the first DATAachieved. The dish was then Luckily, changing the exist- and then momentarily press pass! built-in QuickRecovery soft- The LEXIUM FastAlign Manufacturer LEXIUMsecured in place; it couldn’t ing entry in the “local chan- the Option/Local button once Clearly, the LEXIUM ware, you don’t have to wor- 5110Pro digital satellite me- California, USAget any easier than that. nel list” to a workable value again to move the arrow cur- 5110Pro’s QuickSweep tech- ry about any of this. Simply ter is an extremely powerful Home Page www.LEXIUM-DVB.com Was this just beginners is a snap. At present, the cur- sor to the next entry (SR). For nology lives up to its name. press the “Recovery” button signal analyzer wrapped up E-mail sales@lexium-dvb.comluck? We wanted to make sor arrow indicator should our test we used the 12.052H The meter reacts instantly to reset the meter back to its in a nice little package. It’s a Model FastAlign 5110Pro Digital Satellite Metersure so we decided to give the be pointing to the channel transponder with a symbol- when you approach the tar- original factory settings. How lightweight handheld device Input Frequency Range 950 – 2150 MHzHISPASAT satellite at 30°W a number (in this case channel rate of 27500. Continue this get satellite as you’re turning great is that? that you can easily hold for LNB Power 13V, 18V; 400mAtry with the same dish. From 86). By momentarily push- procedure until all the remain- the antenna. Thanks to this Earlier we mentioned the longer periods of time without C/Ku-band Compatible yesthe “local channel list” we ing the Option/Local button ing parameters are entered speedy response time, you USB port located on the bot- any fatigue. It comes with nu- Memory 300 channels (local channel list); 100 channels (user defined list)scrolled through the channels on the front panel once, the and then press the Save/C don’t have to sit there wait- tom of the meter; this port merous useful features that Symbolrate 2 – 45 Ms/secuntil we found the only entry cursor arrow should move to button to store the data. The ing for the analyzer to do its allows you to connect the me- help make satellite installa-for 30°W located at channel the frequency position (F) and ter to your PC and gives you tions a breeze. It comes with 22 kHz Control yes LEXIUM 5110Pro is now ready job every time the antenna86. The entry at this location the first digit in the current for the HISPASAT satellite. is moved a notch. You can the ability to add, delete or a pre-installed list of satellites USB Interface yeswas for 11.466 GHz, 3500 SR, frequency should be blink- According to the 5110Pro, simply rotate the dish on its modify the satellite list, tran- from all around the world and Operating Temperature 0 - 40° C9750 LOF. As it turns out, this ing. Simply enter in the cor- the proper antenna settings mount and stop the rotation sponder specifications and yet is smart enough to only AC Power Supply Input 100 – 240VAC, 1.6A, 50-60Hz; Output 18.5VDC, 3.5A for HISPASAT are an azimuth when the analyzer reacts to 22 kHz settings directly from show those satellites that are Dimensions 142 x 82 x 35mm (A) of 125°, an elevation (E) of the target satellite. It’s that your PC or laptop. In order to visible from your location. It Weight 1.0 LBS (including battery) 25° and an LNB polarization simple. be able to do this, you’d need would make the perfect addi- adjustment (P) of +38°. We A note to those of you who to download the necessary in- tion to any satellite installer’s More about this company repositioned the LNBF in the will be setting up systems that terface software which can be toolbox. www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1109/eng/wsinternational.pdf mount to reflect the new po- use universal Ku-band LNBFs: larization adjustment angle of the LEXIUM 5110Pro will work Expert Opinion +38°. Next we loosened the with these types of LNBFs but Lightweight, easy to use handheld digital mounting bolts on the anten- not exactly in the way that you satellite signal meter for precise alignment na so that it could be moved. might expect. When selecting of antenna to target satellite. Its QuickSweep The antenna was turned to- the LOF to be used, you’d un- technology takes the worry out of accidentally wards an azimuth setting of doubtedly expect one of the + passing the target satellite while moving the antenna in that the meter reacts instantly to 125° and sure enough as we choices to be “universal” how- Ron Roessel approached the 125° position ever that is not the case here. any antenna movements. Its three-digit azi- TELE-satellite Test Center muth display allows this meter to be used any- USA the signal quality bar graph With this meter you have to where in the world. (Q) on the meter began to re- enter the correct universal act. LOF (9.750 or 10.600 GHz) No DiSEqC protocols; meter must be connected directly to As the antenna was moved and set the 22 kHz signal to a little more, the S/N level ON if needed. The correct set- – the LNB without any DiSEqC switches in between. There’s also no universal setting for the LOF; universal LNBFs can be increased and the “Locked” tings will depend on whether used with this meter but the LOFs need to be set up manually. indicator on the display illumi- the transponder frequency to nated. We had found HISPA- be received is in the LNBF’s low band (10.7 to 11.7 GHZ) Das Lexium or high band (11.7 to 12.75 und 48° Nord eingegeben. GHz). Of course, the LEXIUM Kaum hatten wir das erle- 5110Pro is also C-band com- digt, lieferte uns das Fas- FastAlign 5110 Pro im patible. tAlign 5110 Pro auch schon And as if all of the above eine vorprogrammierte Sa- wasn’t enough, this meter tellitenliste die von 58° West bis 92.2° Ost reichte. Damit europäischen Einsatz comes with yet another fasci- sind wirklich alle Satelliten nating feature: it has Quick- abgedeckt, die an unse- Recovery Software built in. rem Standort theoretisch This software restores the empfangen werden können. 5110Pro back to its origi- Thomas Haring Auf die Beams der einzel- nal factory settings should a nen Satelliten, die z.B. beim problem ever occur during a Mit dem Lexium FastAlign Eingabe der Positionsdaten sind. Deshalb testeten wir östlichsten Satelliten auf data transfer to the meter. In 5110 Pro hat die US-ameri- vor dem ersten Verwenden das Lexium FastAlign 5110 92.2° Ost, dem CHINASAT the past such a data transfer kanische Firma WS Interna- des Messgeräts ist dieses Pro auch in Europa in un- 9, nur auf China gerichtet interruption would almost al- tional ganz eindeutig nicht in der Lage selbstständig zu serem Testcenter in Öster- sind und einen Empfang am ways result in a dead meter. nur auf den amerikanischen erkennen, welche Satelliten reich. Teststandort Wien daher un- Restoring the meter used to Markt gezielt, sondern alle am aktuellen Standort über- Nach der ersten Inbetrieb- möglich machen, nimmt das Voraussetzungen geschaf- haupt empfangen werden nahme des Lexium FastAlign neue Lexium Messgerät na- involve opening up the case, fen, um ihr neuestes Mess- können und welche durch die 5110 Pro haben wir natürlich türlich keine Rücksicht. Und locating and then reflashing gerät auch weltweit vertrei- Erdkrümmung bereits hinter sofort die Koordinaten hier in das ist auch gut so, denn die the memory. It’s a process ben zu können. Dank der dem Horizont verschwunden Wien/Österreich mit 16° Ost Ausstrahlungsgebiete eines84 TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine — 09-10/2012 — www.TELE-satellite.com www.TELE-satellite.com — 09-10/2012 — TELE-satellite International — 全球发行量最大的数字电视杂志 85